Alleged N27B Fraud: EFCC Arrests Former Taraba State Governor Darius Ishaku

The EFCC has arrested former Taraba State Governor Darius Ishaku over allegations of a N27 billion fraud. Learn more about the case and ongoing investigations.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested and jailed former Taraba State Governor, Darius Ishaku, for his alleged involvement in a N27 billion fraud. The former governor is on trial on 15 charges including breach of trust, embezzlement and misappropriation of public funds. The alleged crimes occurred between 2015 and 2021 during Ishaku’s tenure as governor and involved funds from the Taraba State government and local government councils. Specifically, Ishaku is accused of embezzling N1.01 billion from the 2.5% contingency fund of the Taraba State Local Government and Chieftaincy Secretariat between August 2015 and March 2016.

Ishaku is also alleged to have misappropriated N3.348 billion of the local government council funds for personal gain and N639 million for personal purposes.

Other charges include embezzlement of N1.138 billion from the same emergency fund between July 2015 and May 2019, and N193 million from Donga Local Government Council funds.

Other charges include breach of trust amounting to N650 million from Gasol Local Government Council, N170 million from Gashaka Local Government Council and N201 million from Arudo Kola Local Government Council.

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The former governor is also accused of using N23 million from Taraba State government funds to purchase a semi-detached house in Abuja and N761 million to pay off a loan to his company, Worthy Construction Limited. The spokesman for the Commission, Mr Dele Oyewale, confirmed the matter. The charge reads in part: “That you, Darius Dickson Ishaku, during your tenure as Governor of Taraba State and Bello Yero during your tenure as Permanent Secretary to the Local Government Office of Taraba State and Chief Commissioner of Taraba State, between the 25th day of August, 2015 and the 21st day of March, 2016, an Abuja court within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, was entrusted with the management of certain properties, namely, the sum of One Billion and Ten Million Naira (One Billion Naira) constituting part of the total value of two and a half percent, and that you, the Local Government and Reserve Officers of the Chief Commissioner’s Office of Taraba State, by misappropriating the said sum for your own purposes, committed a criminal breach of trust in respect of the said properties and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 315 of the Penal Code, Ch. 532, Federal Capital Territory Act, 2007 and punishable under the same provisions.”

“You, Darius Dickson Isaku, as Governor of Taraba State, Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, were entrusted with the management of certain properties within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court between the 3rd day of September, 2015 and the 29th day of January, 2018. The sum of Seven Hundred and Sixty-One Million Three Hundred and One Thousand Naira (Seven Hundred and Sixty-One Million and One Hundred …